Bridgehead owner says her staff who phoned 911 should not face blame in death of Somali man

Bridgehead CEO Tracey Clark says her staff are being unfairly blamed in the death of Abdirahman Abdi because they called 911 after Abdi allegedly assaulted more than one woman at a Bridgehead coffee shop. Tony Caldwell / Postmedia Network

An anonymous caller phoned the Bridgehead coffee chain’s main office a few days ago and asked for chief executive Tracey Clark. Told she wasn’t available, the caller asked to pass along a message.

“Tell her thanks for killing Abdi.”

The message clearly shakes Clark. She’s seen other comments on social media and heard from customers who say Bridgehead staff should share the blame for the death of Abdirahman Abdi on July 24. And that’s unfair, said Clark in an interview Monday.

Her staff acted appropriately by calling 911 after Abdi allegedly assaulted several people at a Bridgehead shop on Wellington Street, she said.

Abdi, a Somali man whose family says was mentally ill, died after a violent confrontation with police responding to the 911 call. The provincial Special Investigations Unit, which is called when police are involved in a death, is investigating. Some people in the Somali and black communities have raised cries of police brutality and racism.

“I get it,” said Clark. “They are obviously very, very upset. They obviously see it as state violence by people in uniform against marginalized populations, and they see this as part of a pattern. I understand that, and can accept that.

“However, that is the police reaction. It is not what happened in our store.”

Both Bridgehead staff and customers phoned 911 after Abdi allegedly assaulted “more than one” woman at the coffee shop, said Clark. She was not there, but talked to staff who were. (Postmedia interviewed one witness who said he spoke to a woman at the coffee shop who said she was groped.)

Staff “did absolutely what they should have done in that situation, which is call for help,” said Clark.

Abdi’s race did not play a role in the 911 calls, says Clark. “I flatly reject that. We deal with behaviours as they are presented. And we tolerate a lot of behaviours. But if staff are being harassed, or there is an unsafe situation, that’s when they will ask for help.”

Customers in the store grabbed Abdi, took him outside and tried to hold on to him until police arrived, she said.

Clark said some people have suggested that Bridgehead staff be trained in how to respond to people who are mentally ill. “I don’t know how realistic that is. How much specialized training should a part-time barista who’s going to work for us for six to nine month, maybe a year, have for a situation that has a one in a billion probability?”

Clark said the incident at the coffee shop was traumatic for both staff and customers. Now they’re also dealing with criticism from the public.

“We’ve had some customers come into the store and say, ‘How is your staff doing? That was a traumatic incident. ‘ But that was little and far between. What staff more experience was a sense of ‘Wow, why did you guys call (911)?’ Or when they read the social media comments of ‘Wow, a bunch of white people feeling uncomfortable with a black man’s behaviour.’ That seemed to be the dominant conversation.”

A couple days after the death, someone phoned several Bridgehead shops, she said. “They said, “Hi, I have a severely autistic child. I’m thinking of bringing him to Bridgehead. But are you going to call the cops on him and he’ll be killed?” (Initial news reports suggested that Abdi had autism.)

Some Bridgehead staff at the Wellington shop have taken time off, asked to be moved to other locations, or received counselling, said Clark. She said the company has tried to support them, and suggested they avoid reading social media.

Clark said staff told her that for several weeks before the incident Abdi had frequently visited the Wellington Street shop, and some customers complained he was making them uncomfortable by staring at them. The shop manager spoke privately with Abdi to ask him if he was aware of the behaviour and how it made people feel, and asked him to stop, said Clark.

Clark said she initially hesitated to comment publicly about Abdi’s death, partly for fear of interfering with the SIU investigation and partly because she didn’t want the experience of Bridgehead staff to eclipse the more important story of what she calls the “brutal reaction” of the police and the need for justice to be done.

“I totally think the police reaction, and the fact that Mr. Abdi died, is the major story here. But to the extent that people are offering to blame coffee house employees, and coffee house customers, for asking for help, is inappropriate.”

Tracy Clark’s poem

The CEO of Bridgehead wrote this poem to Adirahman Abdi to describe the feelings of Bridgehead staff

I am not safe if you are not safe.

I knew you

I am eyes on the street, after all

It was not the colour of your skin

I knew you had mental health issues too

But I did not have a choice

You assaulted a customer

I called for help, for you and for me, for the customer you assaulted, for the other customers